For a very long time, easily available baby foods have been considered healthy. However, according to a new study, up to two-thirds of baby foods sold in grocery stores in the United States are harmful. The purpose of the study was to bring the widespread use of false claims on the packaging of these products to the immediate notice of parents and legislators.
Unhealthy baby food products The study was done by the George Institute for Global Health and published on Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients . As per the study, 60 per cent of 651 foods marketed for children aged six months to 36 months in American supermarkets did not meet the recommended nutritional guidelines for infant and toddler foods by the World Health Organization (WHO). Almost none of the food matched all of the WHO’s advertising guidelines, which centre on genuine health claims and legible ingredient labelling.
The researchers discovered that out of all the products, 70 per cent fell short of WHO guidelines for protein content and 25 per cent did not meet recommendations for calories. Among diets for infants or toddlers, one in five had salt concentrations higher than recommended by the group. The study examined more than 650 items that were taken in 2023 from the infant food section of 10 large US stores.
Dairy products and other chilled foods marketed to kids were not examined. The study did not reveal the names or brands of the foods. The WHO Regional Office for Europe’s 2022 recommendat.